It’s hard to believe I’ve contributed 75 reviews to Patti Abbott’s WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES. It seems like only yesterday….
Since this is the 75th post in this series, I thought I’d feature one of my favorite mystery short story collections: Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini’s A Century of Mystery 1980-1989. Not only does it feature plenty of great writers, the stories tend to be full of surprises!
Let’s start with Frederick Forsyth’s classic “There Are No Snakes in Ireland” with its tricky ending. Lawrence Block is at his best in “As Good as a Rest.” I’ve always enjoyed Tony Hillerman’s “Chee’s Witch.” Ed Gorman’s “The Reason Why” is both clever and profound. And, of course, Marcia Muller’s “Deadly Fantasies” and Bill Pronzini’s “Stacked Deck” fit right into this All-Star line-up.
If you’re looking for a great mystery anthology, A Century of Mystery 1980-1989 fits the bill. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: Edward D. Hoch — 1
The Good Samaritan by Isaac Asimov — 7
A Man With a Fortune by Peter Lovesey — 23
There Are No Snakes in Ireland by Frederick Forsyth — 36
A Great Sight by Janwillem van de Wetering — 59
Greektown by Loren D. Estleman — 69
Father’s Day by Ruth Rendell — 85
The Worst Crime Known to Man by Reginal Hill –97
A Case of Chivas Regal by George V. Higgins — 105
Lucky Penny by Linda Barnes — 116
As Good as a Rest by Lawrence Block — 136
Chee’s Witch by Tony Hillerman — 146
Hit-and-Run by Susan Dunlap — 157
King’s X by Brian Garfield — 168
Skin Deep by Sara Paretsky — 183
Stacked Deck by Bill Pronzini — 197
More Final Than Divorce by Robert Barnard — 219
The Dakar Run by Clark Howard — 228
The Reason Why by Edward Gorman — 260
Blood Types by Julie Smith –270
Deadly Fantasies by Marcia Muller — 293
This one, and its presumed nine companions, got past me altogether. That’s a good lineup, and only one or two near-chestnuts among the stories. Excellent choice for this commemoration post.
Alas, this does look like the only volume published…the relatively quick collapse of MJF as a publisher probably didn’t help.
My further mistake…I stopped seeing MJF Books, but they continue to chug along, perhaps under different ownership.
Todd, the ownership might have changed, but the “Century” series was discontinued.
Todd, MJF’s collapse certainly was the cause of the end of this series. The “Century” in the title was only one decade in this series.
Todd, I’m looking for the other volumes in this series so other posts might pop up in the months ahead.
Some of my favorite authors, many of my favorite stories. How can you go wrong?
Jerry, A CENTURY OF MYSTERY 1980-1989 is a superb anthology! There’s a lot to like here!
Nice collection. There is not author one I am unfamiliar with and I’m sure I’ve read something by each of them, though I missed this anthology, somehow. Out of the 20 authors, I’m sure I’ve read single author collections by at least 15 of them, maybe more.
Jeff, Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini edited a number of good mystery anthologies. I own some of them and I’m considering tracking down the rest online.
The Dakar Run by Clark Howard is one of my all-time favorite short stories. It combines an exciting race in an exotic location, a crime story, and an awkward father-daughter relationship. Utterly captivating.
Jeff, Clark Howard is an underrated writer. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read from him!
There was a Crippen & Landru collection of his stories that was terrific. I saw him at the Las Vegas (I think) Bouchercon and he was a very good speaker.
Jeff, thanks for the heads up! I’ll order that Crippen & Landru collection Right Now!
George, it’s great to see the likes of Frederick Forsyth and Brian Garfield (who I read in my teens) in the list, not to mention Loren D. Estleman, Lawrence Block, Ed Gorman and others. I’m off to check the anthology on Amazon.
Prashant, clearly 1980-1989 featured plenty of great mystery short stories! I’ve found treasures on AMAZON at affordable prices! ABE.com, too!
Am I the only one here who never heard of MJF Books?
Michael, Todd Mason knows more about MJF Books than I do. I know I bought several of their anthologies back in the 1980s.
This does look like a fantastic collection, George, so I just found a copy at Abebooks and ordered it.
Tracy, now you know why Patti Abbott calls me “George the Tempter”!
So true. Sometimes I can resist, but not this time.